In the manufacture of glassware, such as glass containers, various anomalies or variations can occur that affect commercial desirability of the containers. These anomalies, termed “commercial variations,” can involve dimensional characteristics of the container such as the container finish, surface characteristics that can affect acceptable operation of the container, such as surface variations at the container sealing surface, or variations such as stones or checks within the container finish, sidewall or bottom.
It is conventional practice to mold indicia on each container indicative of the mold or origin of the container for inspection and quality control purposes. Some container inspection systems utilize a starwheel-type conveyor for accepting containers in sequence from a feed conveyor and transporting the containers through a series of inspection stations. One or more inspections may take place for each container at each station of the apparatus. The term “inspection” is used in its broadest sense to encompass any optical, electro-optical, mechanical or electrical observation or engagement with the container to measure or determine a potentially variable characteristic, including but not necessarily limited to mold codes and commercial variations.